Troy coach Scott Cross has emerged as the leading candidate in Georgia Tech’s basketball coaching search, multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports on Friday, March 20.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about Cross’ candidacy. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Cross, who led Troy to its second straight Men’s NCAA Tournament berth this season, has been offered the job.
The Georgia Tech job came open when athletic director Ryan Alpert fired Damon Stoudamire on March 8 after the Yellow Jackets closed their season on a 12-game losing streak and failed to make the 15-team ACC Tournament. Stoudamire, an ex-Arizona star, lasted three seasons with the Yellow Jackets and posted a 42-55 record.
Cross and Furman coach Bob Richey were among the candidates thoroughly vetted by Alpert during Georgia Tech’s search, with Cross emerging as the focus, multiple sources told USA TODAY Sports.
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Richey coached Furman to its eighth March Madness berth this season and second since 1980. The 15th-seeded Paladins (22-12) will face No. 2 UConn (29-5) in the first round on Friday.
Why Georgia Tech is targeting Scott Cross
Georgia Tech is trying to revive a program that has lost 93 games the past five seasons and has just one NCAA Tournament berth since 2010.
In narrowing the focus on Cross, Georgia Tech is targeting a coach coming off a successful stint after spending more than two decades at the Division I level.
Cross, who has 19 years’ experience as an NCAA head coach, led Troy to a Sun Belt Conference championship and 22-12 record this season, ending with Thursday’s 76-47 loss to Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Cross’ last five Troy teams won at least 20 games. His past two reached the NCAA Tournament and another reached the now-defunct College Basketball Invitational.
Before arriving at Troy, Cross guided Texas-Arlington to postseason appearances in the NIT and College Invitational Tournament (CIT) quarterfinals.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scott Cross top Georgia Tech basketball candidate after March Madness loss
